Iowa gives
Cruz victory;
Democrats
face tight race
“It is rare that we have the
opportunity we do now, to
have a real contest of ideas, to
Associated Press
really think hard about what
DES MOINES, Iowa — the Democratic Party stands
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a fiery for and what we want the
conservative loathed by his future of our country to look
own party’s leaders, swept to like,” Clinton said.
For her supporters, the
victory in Iowa’s Republican
caucuses
Monday, exceedingly tight race with
overcoming
billionaire Sanders was sure to bring
Donald Trump and Florida back painful memories of
Sen. Marco Rubio. Among her loss to Barack Obama
Democrats, Hillary Clinton in 2008. Her campaign
and Bernie Sanders were spent nearly a year building
a massive get-out-the-vote
deadlocked in a tight race.
Cruz’s
victory
over operation in Iowa yet still
Trump was a testament to seemed to be caught off
his massive get-out-the-vote guard by the enthusiasm
operation in Iowa and the surrounding Sanders.
A
self-declared
months he spent wooing the
democratic
state’s influential
socialist from
conser vative
Ve r m o n t ,
and evangelical
Sanders drew
leaders.
large, youthful
“Iowa
has
crowds across
sent notice that
the state with
the Republican
his calls for
nominee
and
breaking
next president
up big Wall
of the United
Street banks
States will not
and his fierce
be chosen by
opposition to
the media, will
a
campaign
Cruz
not be chosen by
finance system
the Washington
that he says is
establishment,”
rigged for the wealthy.
Cruz said.
Cruz
modeled
his
Trump, the supremely
confident real estate mogul, campaign after past Iowa
sounded humble in defeat, Republican winners, visiting
saying he was “honored” all of the state’s 99 counties
by the support of Iowans. and courting influential
And he vowed to keep up evangelical and conservative
his fight for the Republican leaders. While candidates
with that portfolio have often
nomination.
“We will go on to easily faded later in the primary
beat Hillary or Bernie or contest, Cruz’s campaign
whoever the hell they throw says it has the financial
up,” Trump told cheering resources to maintain viable
for months.
supporters.
Trump and Rubio were
Clinton took the stage
at her own campaign rally battling for second place,
saying she was “breathing a ensuring a stronger-thanbig sigh of relief ” but with expected finish for the Florida
the Democratic race too close senator regardless of his exact
to call. Well aware that even standing in the vote tally.
a slim victory over Sanders Rubio is a favorite of more
Republicans
would reinvigorate questions mainstream
about her candidacy, she
foresaw a long race to come.
CAUCUS >> Page 4

JULIE PACE AND
CATHERINE LUCEY

>>WHAT’S INSIDE
opinion

Dane Chronister | City Editor

LOOKING CLOSER A research team led by associate professor Dr. Michael Trakselis is attempting to understand how enzymes
copy, fix and unwind DNA.

Decoding DNA
Research team of faculty, students studies
enzyme’s role in genetic replication, repair
JESSICA BABB
Broadcast News Producer
Behind the closed doors of the Baylor Sciences Building,
biochemistry associate professor Dr. Michael Trakselis and his
students are researching the building blocks of life.
“Research is intellectually challenging, but having students
work with you and get excited about the project, to me its great,”
Trakselis said. “It’s really fun and just to see the light click on
sometimes or just to get that great result for them. It’s exciting
and it’s great to see that excitement.”
Trakselis’ research focuses primarily on mechanisms of
DNA repair and replication to learn how enzymes work on
DNA to copy it, fix it, and unwind it. By understanding how
Dane Chronister | City Editor
certain enzymes interact with each other, Trakselis hopes to be
LAB
STUDIES
Plano
P.h.D.
candidate
Matthew Cranford is part
able to contribute to cancer research and infertility therapeutics.
“If you’re real lucky you can see it in your lifetime, but most of Dr.Trakselis’ research team.
people don’t,” Trakselis said. “That chance in developing drugs
is always the goal but cancer is so complicated, we can do it for
is nice just to make an impact in science. I would also like to see
certain things but we can’t do it for everything. So we can use
my students succeed in their own careers, I think that’s pretty
some of what we’ve learned for diagnostics.”
Trakselis has always been fascinated by DNA because of the rewarding as well.”
Wentzville, Mo. senior Carly Thaxton, is one of the
complexity of the structure, but didn’t realize until graduate
undergraduate students currently working with Trakselis.
school that he wanted to research it.
“Having some health impact was important for me,” Trakselis Thaxton focuses most of her time working with DNA helicases,
said. “Studying a relevant disease is challenging, but then to which is the protein that unwinds DNA, where she introduces
use some chemistry, some quantification, number to put on a mutations into the amino acids to see how they react.
For almost a year now, she has been working to prepare herself
biological problem, that’s what drove me to that.”
However, Trakselis isn’t just helping people through his for medical school next year. Through her experiences with the
research. He constantly helps the undergraduate and graduate research, she has been forced to overcome many obstacles.
“When you are in science labs, you have the protocol written
students in his lab learn many life lessons.
“It would be nice to have some of our research make an out and it’s supposed to work like that,” Thaxton said. “For us we
impact toward the development of drugs and it would be nice are doing research on something people haven’t done before so
to see some of our fundamental discoveries show up in in
textbooks,” Trakselis said. “It’s actually starting to happen which
DECODING >> Page 4

Edmodo prank
causes school scare
LIESJE POWERS
Staff Writer

Editorial: The charges
against Melissa Click set
a good precedent for
journalistic freedom.
pg. 2

sports
Men’s Basketball Recap:
Read what you missed at
last night’s game against UT.
pg. 6

Vol.116 No. 60

What started out as a social media rumor
in January at Midway High School ended in
serious consequences.
The incident started with a tweet warning
students to stay away from school. The message
appeared to be an official post from the district,
but was an edited version of message that had
previously been sent out through the school’s
Edmodo account. New text was placed on the
message and the image was then screen-shot
and posted on social media.
Edmodo is a private communication site for
students, parents and staff at schools to interact.
“You could probably teach a second -grader
[how to] do the same thing,” said Seth Hansen,
executive director of technology for Midway,

about the situation.
The message created a stir among
students and parents at the school, and close
to 200 compiled phone calls, emails and
texts were sent to the district within a few
hours of the school opening that day.
The incident was heightened because of a
recently rumored shooting threat. A student
had placed a countdown to an event on
Twitter that was misconstrued as a threat.
While the use of technology led to the
incidents, no hacking was done and no
information was stolen.
“It wasn’t illegal access,” Traci Marlin,
public information coordinator for Midway,
said. “It was what they did with it that was
illegal.”

EDMODO >> Page 4

Penelope Shirey | Lariat Photographer

MEDIA SCARE Midway High School students,
faculty and residents received a message on Edmodo warning them to stay away from school.

Melissa Click’s charges set good precedent
Last semester, the American people witnessed
a blatant violation of the First Amendment
occur at the University of Missouri. Melissa
Click, an assistant communications professor at
Mizzou, pushed away and physically threatened
members of the media covering a public
demonstration on Mizzou’s campus in the wake
of University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe’s
resignation.
Last week, Columbia’s city prosecutor
charged Click with third-degree assault. Mizzou
subsequently suspended her from working at
the university. It was only days later that Click
and the city prosecutor reached a deal. She will
forgo the prosecution as long as she serves 20
hours of community service and does not break
the law for one year.
For those who may have missed it or need a
little catching up: Wolfe resigned after students
protested his status as president, citing him as
unwilling and uninterested in fixing alleged
racism on campus. Passions piqued after Wolfe’s
resignation. The protesters considered it a
victory and celebrated en masse on Mizzou’s
campus.
Some think Wolfe’s resignation was either
unfair or didn’t solve anything concerning
Mizzou’s alleged racism problem. While others
think the vacancy at the presidential position
would leave the university with the opportunity
to right its wrongs. But Click comes at pivotal
point in this saga.
Click’s escapade with the media was caught
on camera. This brought her scorn in the
national news when the video of her went
viral, including the Baylor Lariat publishing an
editorial condemning her actions and those who
assisted her unlawful efforts that day. Nothing
has changed about the Lariat’s stance on that.
At the time of the incident, there was, of
course, no verdict or trial set for Click. The
legal process almost never runs as fast as public
opinion, but the American people had already
seen enough with her video. She clearly violated
the First Amendment.

For Click, massive public humiliation,
a public apology, charges from the city of
Columbia’s prosecutor and a job suspension
later, there’s no doubt she has paid a price for
her egregious, un-American actions on that day.
She failed the school she worked for and the
very cause she was trying to represent.
First, she failed Mizzou as a teacher and role
model for the students. Click was not alone in
threatening the media that day. She had students

surrounding the media, physically forcing and
taunting the reporters and cameramen to go
away.
Those students should be ashamed of
themselves. The damage Click did to them
students and their understanding of the first
amendment is immeasurable.
Second, she devastated the credibility of
the movement responsible for petitioning and
protesting for Wolfe’s resignation. Her actions

revealed the problem that this movement was
seeking change. To this day, the student group
known as Concerned Student 1950 supports
Click. Furthermore, Concerned Student 1950
charges the university administration with
white supremacy and social degradation.
The group released this statement in reaction
to Mizzou’s expressed interested in investigating
the incident with Click:
“Click is a white woman, professor, and
ally who supported historically marginalized
students at the University of Missouri
during a time when students were exposing
the institution for preserving racism. The
University of Missouri System is devoting
time to tarnishing Click’s career instead of
dismantling the oppressive RACIST social
system it perpetuates!”
The statement concludes with this:
“We will remain committed to ensuring our
demands are met by any means necessary.”
The Concerned Student 1950 downplays,
perhaps even ignores, what Click did that day.
God forbid anything like this happen again.
However, if it does happen again, no university,
prosecutor or American citizen should take
it lightly. And that should include Concerned
Student 1950 – a group obsessed with its
interests who will stop at nothing to achieve
them, regardless of whether they’re done
lawfully or not.
The Lariat’s qualm with violations of the First
Amendment were thoroughly and extensively
argued last semester. The freedoms endowed
in the First Amendment are absolutely vital
to the American republic. Without it, we, the
American people, lose our identity.
The story is not quite over, but the city of
Columbia has made an example out of Click,
which is a step in the right direction. Mizzou
also made a statement in suspending Click,
following the charges, and said they will follow
through with an investigation. Violating the
First Amendment is unacceptable and should
be punished. That much is clear.

COLUMN

Refuge comes at high price for Syrians and Denmark
People’s Party spokesman Martin Henriksen told CNN.
What does this mean for European migrants? Several
Many people, even native Danes, have criticized the countries are closing their borders and tightening immigration
legislation that is so out of character for the typically socially laws in an attempt to protect their own. Thousands of Syrians are
liberal government that is incredibly generous towards its people. hurrying to the Danish borders to escape to a place where their
It’s rapidly becoming clear that the same generosity may not apply personal belongings are secure and the hope of family returning
to others.
can become a reality.
Although many are quick to disapprove upon immediate
For those most desperate to reach safety, those who have lost
knowledge of this new legislation, Denmark may be justified in all of their belongings and family members, Denmark remains to
its actions, if not for its motives.
be the safe haven that they need. The cost of safety may be a steep
Denmark has been a historically socially liberal country. price due to the limited space in Europe. If a watch must be given
Every Danish college student is guaranteed the
up to acquire charity, some food and a roof, many
opportunity for higher education for $900 a
will gladly let go of earthly belongings. It does not
month. The country continues to make aggressive
make Denmark the most empathetic entity, but it
The responsibility
efforts to improve the state of the environment.
is allowing the last few refugees they have room
of saving the
Healthcare is free for all and welfare is subsidized
for a chance at a better life nonetheless.
by the state. Although tax rates are high,
Part of the responsibility of relieving the
Syrian population
Denmark is considered a European utopia based
pressure of the migration crisis falls to the
simply cannot
on its kindness to its citizens.
other world powers, the United States included.
fall onto the
Denmark takes care of every citizen, all
American values are difficult to ignore when an
shoulders of such
9.5 million of them. This population sits on a
entire country is drowning and its population
a small country.
peninsula that is just 16,639 square miles in size,
displaced and in desperate need of humanitarian
a whole country just over the size of Wisconsin.
efforts. However, the latest immigration program
Before the bill was passed, Denmark’s liberal
has plans for just 10,000 to be filtered in, just a
policies were initially a strong attractant for
fraction of the hundreds of thousands taken in
Syrian refugees. Free education and healthcare is an enormous by Denmark, Sweden and Jordan. These countries have sadly
draw to those who are escaping from a broken country. As a exhausted their generosity, and it is time for a country with ample
result, Denmark took in 170,000 immigrants last year alone resources and space, almost 4 million square miles, to be exact, to
before realizing that the faucet was not going to begin trickling pick of some of the slack.
anytime soon.
The reasoning of Danish politicians is undoubtedly harsh, but
Danish officials believe that they are protecting their culture, it is an unmistakable fact that something had to be done to lower
but the bigger issue at hand is that their society in its entirety the heavy influx of survivors to ensure the survival of Danish
could be threatened by an increasing population. This problem society. The responsibility of saving the Syrian population simply
is slowly becoming a reality and this realization had a large part cannot fall onto the shoulders of such a small country. However,
of the decision when it came to immigration law. It has become would it have been less cruel to close borders completely, or is
clear that for a country of its size, it simply cannot allow many it a token of Denmark’s continued generosity that a trickle of
more immigrants within its borders for the safety and security incoming refugees remains?
of their society. Although Denmark is an incredibly rich and
Jacquelyn Kellar is a sophomore journalism major from
socially successful country, it will cease to be if it crumbles under Missouri City. She is a reporter for the Lariat.
the weight of the wave of refugees.

JACQUELYN KELLAR
Reporter
Denmark continues to authorize entry to Syrian refugees, but
at what cost?
The massive wave of Syrian refugees has sent governments
across the globe into a tailspin over how to handle the crisis of
the displacement of one country’s entire population.
Denmark, a small peninsula nestled between Europe and
Scandinavia, has taken its stance on the issue and is allowing
Syrian refugees seeking asylum into
the country.
So why are the same refugees who
escaped their war torn country now
fleeing Denmark by the thousands and
fervently discouraging others from
arriving?
The stipulations and requirements
for entry placed on immigrants are
just too steep for some. Denmark has
recently passed legislation authorizing
its officials the right to seize valuables
from refugees upon their entrance. Items such as mobile phones,
laptop computers and jewelry, outside of wedding rings, are
subject to confiscation upon entry and are considered a tax
payment to the host country.
Additionally, it may be several years before immigrants
separated from their families can see their relatives again.
Denmark’s government has lengthened the time that refugees
may apply for family reunification from one year to three.
The goal of these provisions isn’t to make money off of
refugees’ few valuables, but to deter further immigrants from
choosing to seek refuge in Denmark, and so far, it’s working. The
right-wing Danish People’s Party, which rose to power this past
June, is pushing for tighter regulations on immigration to retain
its rich, European culture.
“We hope this will start a chain reaction through Europe where
other European countries can see there’s the need to tighten the
rules on immigration in order to keep European culture,” Danish

Opinion
The Baylor Lariat welcomes reader viewpoints through letters to the editor and
guest columns. Opinions expressed in the Lariat are not necessarily those of the
Baylor administration, the Baylor Board of Regents, the student body or the Student Publications Board.

Editorials, Columns & Letters
Editorials express the opinions of the Lariat Editorial Board. Lariat letters and
columns are the opinions of an individual and not the Baylor Lariat.

Lariat Letters
To submit a Lariat Letter, email LariatLetters@baylor.edu. Letters should be a
maximum of 400 words. The letter is not guaranteed to be published.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016
The Baylor Lariat

News

3

Britain approves embryo gene-editing
MARIA CHENG
Associated Press
LONDON — In a landmark
decision that some ethicists warned is
a step down the path toward “designer
babies,” Britain gave scientists
approval Monday to conduct geneediting experiments on human
embryos.
The researchers won’t be creating
babies — the modified embryos
will be destroyed after seven days.
Instead, they said, the goal is to better
understand human development so
as to improve fertility treatments and
prevent miscarriages.
The decision by Britain’s Human
Fertilisation
and
Embryology
Authority marks the first time a
county’s national regulator has
approved the technique. Permission
isn’t explicitly required in many other
countries, including the U.S. and
China.
The U.S. does not allow the
use of federal funds for embryo
modification, but there is no outright
ban on gene editing.
Gene editing involves deleting,
repairing or replacing bits of DNA
inside living cells in a biological cutand-paste technique that scientists
say could one day lead to treatments
for conditions like HIV or inherited
disorders such as muscular dystrophy
and sickle cell disease.
A team led by Kathy Niakan, an
embryo and stem cell specialist at
London’s new Francis Crick Institute,
received the OK to use gene editing to
analyze the first week of an embryo’s
growth.
The research will “enhance our
understanding of IVF (in vitro
fertilization) success rates by looking
at the very earliest stage of human
development,” said Paul Nurse,
director of the institute.
None of the embryos will be

Associated Press

EUGENICS Embryos are placed onto a CryoLeaf in preparation for the vitrification process on Aug. 8, 2008. On
Monday, British lawmakers approved gene-editing experiments on human embryos, giving scientists the opportunity
to further study human development.

transferred into women. They will be
allowed to develop from a single cell
to around 250 cells, after which they
will be destroyed.
Peter Braude, a retired professor
of obstetrics and gynecology at King’s
College London, said the mechanisms
being investigated by Niakan and her
colleagues “are crucial in ensuring
healthy, normal development and
implantation” and could help doctors
refine fertility treatments. Braude is
not connected to Niakan’s research.
There are a few methods of gene
editing, but the technique Niakan’s
team plans to use is known as
CRISPR-Cas9, a relatively fast, cheap

and simple approach that many
researchers are keen to try.
Some critics warn that tweaking
the genetic code this way could be a
slippery slope that eventually leads
to designer babies, where parents not
only aim to avoid inherited diseases
but also seek taller, stronger, smarter
or better-looking children.
Many religious groups, including
the Catholic Church, argue that
manipulating embryos amounts
to “playing God.” Some scientists
have voiced concern that tinkering
with genes might have unintended
consequences not apparent until after
the babies are born — or generations

later. And some fear such practices
will only widen the gap between rich
and poor by enabling the wealthy to
create superbabies.
“This is the first step on a path
that scientists have carefully mapped
out towards the legalization” of
genetically modified babies, David
King of the advocacy group Human
Genetics Alert said last month when
British regulators took up the issue.
Marcy Darnovsky, executive
director of the Center for Genetics
and Society, a nonprofit advocacy
group in the U.S., warned that
tampering with human genetics
carries “dire safety and societal risks.”

“Now is the time to ensure that
gene editing is not used to create GM
babies and that we stay off the hightech road to new forms of inequality
and to a consumer-driven form of
eugenics,” she said in a statement.
Around the world, laws and
guidelines vary widely about what
kind of research is allowed on
embryos, since such experiments
could change the genes of future
generations. Countries such as
Japan, China, India and Ireland
have unenforceable guidelines that
restrict editing of the human genome.
Germany and other countries in
Europe limit research on human
embryos by law.
Last year, Chinese researchers
made the first attempt at modifying
genes in human embryos. Their
laboratory experiment didn’t work. In
any case, the embryos they used were
never viable, or capable of developing
properly in the womb.
The CRISPR-Cas9 technique was
developed partly in the U.S., and
scientists there have experimented
with it in animals and in human cells
in the laboratory. It has not been used
for any patient therapies, though
Sangamo Biosciences in Richmond,
California, is trying to develop an
HIV treatment.
At an international meeting in
Washington last year, scientists agreed
that attempts to alter early embryos
as part of laboratory research should
be allowed but that the technique
was nowhere near ready for use in
pregnant women.
Last year, British lawmakers voted
to allow scientists to create babies
from the DNA of three people to
prevent children from inheriting
potentially fatal diseases from their
mothers. In doing so, Britain became
the first country to allow genetically
modified embryos to be transferred
into women.

At least 18 dead in
Mexico shootouts
ALFREDO PENA
Associated Press

Associated Press

MOONSHOT Vice President Joe Biden speaks to President Barack Obama during the
president’s State of the Union address on Jan. 12, 2016. The Obama administration has created
the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force, a federal task force devoted to cancer research.
In the upcoming budget, Obama is asking for $755 million towards the project.

‘Moonshot’ to reach
$1 billion in final
budget proposal
JOSH LEDERMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
—
President Barack Obama will
ask Congress for $755 million
for cancer research in his
upcoming budget, the White
House said Monday, bringing
the total price tag for Vice
President Joe Biden’s cancer
“moonshot” to $1 billion.
Research into immunotherapy,
combination
therapy and early detection
techniques will be at the
center of new programs the
administration hopes to create
at the National Institutes
of Health and the Food
and Drug Administration.
Vaccines to prevent viruses
that cause cancer are another
focus, officials said, laying out
for the first time how Biden

will seek to fulfill his goal of
doubling the rate of progress
toward curing cancer.
“Our job is to clear out the
bureaucratic hurdles and let
science happen,” Biden said in
an email to supporters.
With less than a year left
in office, Biden is working to
kick start federal engagement
on curing cancer, which
claimed his 46-year-old son
last year. Obama, in his State
of the Union address, gave the
effort his stamp of approval.
Obama
on
Monday
attended the first meeting of
a new federal task force —
chaired by Biden — bringing
various health and scientific
agencies
together
with
the Pentagon and others.
Biden told the assembled
officials, which included the
secretaries of Energy and of

Health and Human Services,
that achieving the goal would
“take a whole-of-government
approach.”
The $755 million request,
which
Congress
must
approve, will come in Obama’s
final budget proposal Feb.
9. Those funds would join
another $195 million in new
cancer funding Congress
approved in its budget deal
late last year. Dr. Michael
Caligiuri, an Ohio State
University cancer researcher
who has met with Biden,
said a $1 billion investment
could have a major impact if
used for programs selected by
rigorous, external peer review
— not just by the government.
“We’ve tried that before
in our government agencies,”
Caligiuri said in an interview.
“It doesn’t work well.”

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico — At least
18 people including three minors were killed
in shootouts in Mexico over the weekend,
state authorities reported.
In the border city of Matamoros, a string
of armed encounters between gunmen and
security forces left eight dead, and in the
southern state of Guerrero, at least 10 people
were shot dead after an argument at a 15-yearold’s coming-of-age party e.Meanwhile,
National Security commissioner Renato
Sales on Monday announced the arrest of
the presumed leader of the remnants of
the Beltran Leyva drug cartel, which has
fragmented in recent years after the capture
or killing of its principal capos.
Seven of those killed Sunday in
Matamoros, across from Brownsville, were
presumed criminals, according to a statement
from the government of Tamaulipas state.
The eighth fatality was a 13-year-old girl who
was at a crowded shopping mall with her
family and was caught in the crossfire. The
statement said she was struck by a bullet fired
by one of the suspects.

The violence began with a traffic stop
in which the occupants of an SUV with
Texas license plates allegedly opened fire on
authorities, and three suspects were killed.
Authorities seized weapons, ammunition and
packets of marijuana hidden in a suitcase.
In the second incident, state agents shot
dead three armed men who were traveling in
two SUVs. More weapons were seized.
A group of suspects fled from there to the
mall, where another firefight broke out with
Mexican soldiers, and the girl and another
gunman died.
In Guerrero, at least nine people were
shot dead at the end of a private gathering in
the municipality of Coyuca de Catalan, state
prosecutors reported.
As the “quinceanera,” or coming-ofage party, was winding down Saturday, an
argument broke out that escalated from
words to weapons. Two of the dead were
identified as 16- and 17-year-old boys.
In a separate attack on a couple in
Coyuca de Catalan, gunmen killed a woman,
prosecutors said.
Sales said alleged cartel boss Francisco
Javier Hernandez Garcia was detained
Saturday in the northern state of Sinaloa.

4

Tuesday, February 2, 2016
The Baylor Lariat

News

DECODING from Page 1

EDMODO from Page 1
Situations of this sort bring to light a very
real and constant issue: social media ethics.
A large part of social media ethics is its
direct connection to technological footprints.
As college students, choices made on social
media can cause the loss of a job or admission
into future schools.
“Once its out there, you can’t take it back,”
Hansen said.
In an effort to educate students and parents
about digital citizenship, Midway has created
programs for younger students and has
been working to include general technology
etiquette in everyday classrooms.
Although Baylor currently uses Canvas,
there are still ways that students might
implicate others through social media.
According to the Information Technology

we have to write the protocol and perfect it.”
give me what I needed to be successful and I’ve
While Thaxton is excited about the always enjoyed working with him.”
Trakselis said one of his favorite things
research, she recognized how frustrating it is
when an experiment doesn’t go as planned and about research is when his students learn how
to persist through the challenges.
she has to repeat the process numerous times.
“The most rewarding part is when you get
“You don’t have to be a genius to do research,
you just have to be persistent,” Thaxton said.
that great result and you are working together
However, despite the challenges, Thaxton with your students because usually it’s a long
said he appreciates having a mentor to guide journey and its fun when you get to that end
goal,” Trakselis said.
her through the process.
“There are lots of down
“I can approach him
about anything at all
along the way, and then
“You don’t have to be a
honestly,” Thaxton said. “If
finally there is a great
genius to do research,
discovery and that’s what
I have a problem I’m not
is exciting.”
afraid to ask him, if I mess
you just have to be
However, aside from
something up, I’m not afraid
persistent.”
to tell him. He’s definitely
the research, the real
willing and open to help.”
impact from the time
Carly Thaxton | Senior
spent in the lab doesn’t
Round Rock graduate
just come from the
student Matthew Cranford,
discoveries in DNA, but
who is researching different
the people who work
interactions
between
enzymes, also said how much he appreciates closely with it together.
having a mentor like Trakselis to guide
“My favorite part is the people who are part
him through his research and future career of the lab. They are just very easy to get along
with and we just enjoy each other’s company,”
aspirations.
“He is great to work with and I know he Cranford said. “Its nice to work with people
really wants us to be successful,” Cranford said. who are fun and also challenge you.
“Ever since I met him I knew he was going to

CAUCUS from Page 1
and hoped to use the Iowa
results to urge the party
establishment to coalesce
around his candidacy.
“We have taken the first
step, but an important step,
to winning the nomination,”
Rubio said at a campaign
rally in Des Moines. He
congratulated Cruz, saying
he’d “earned his victory.”
Iowa has decidedly mixed
results in picking eventual
nominees. The past two
Republican caucus winners
— former Arkansas Gov.
Mike Huckabee and former
Pennsylvania Sen. Rick
Santorum — faded as the race
stretched on. But Obama’s
unexpected 2008 victory was
instrumental in his path to
the Democratic nomination.
Voters at Republican
caucuses indicated they were
deeply unhappy with the way
the federal government is
working. Half said they were
dissatisfied and 4 in 10 said
they were angry, according to
surveys conducted by Edison
Research for The Associated
Press and the television
networks.

Professional selling majors
participate in annual sell-off
ERIC VINING
Reporter
Students at Baylor University’s Center
for Professional Selling converged at
the Foster Campus for Business &
Innovation on Friday for a day-long selloff competition.
The annual in-house competition
challenges those majoring in Professional
Selling at Baylor by placing them in a
mock sales meeting with a company
executive playing the role of a company
CEO.
“In this scenario, the students work
for ADP, so in payroll management,” said
Mickey Hess, a member of the Center
for Professional Selling’s Ambassador
Board and one of the competition’s six
executives. “I’m the CEO of a tabletop
manufacturer who uses a competitor’s
product. They want to show me the
benefits of their product and convince
me to switch to ADP. We’re given the
scenario, and then they have to try to
accomplish their goal of getting a followup meeting.”
However, students not only had
to convince executives to buy ADP’s
product, but also prove that the company’s
services, such as their customer service,
were superior to their competitor’s.
“My scenario is that my product is
working fine, but the service I’m getting
is not acceptable,” Hess said. “When I
had an issue it took a long time to get
resolved. So, the service — the support
— was our concern, and the goal of the
meeting was to see if they can overcome
those concerns with their product.”
To make the sales scenario more
interesting, students also faced buyers
with a wide range of simulated personality
traits.
“We all get the same script. The only
difference in it are the variations with
what kind of characteristic the buyer is
going to take on,” said Houston junior
Catherine Sullivan. “Every executive - has

Services website, if a Baylor network were
used to post a document that impersonated
another’s identity, the offender would be
revoked of their access to the network.
These actions would also be in violation of
the Student Honor Code if connected to an
academic matter. Any other action would be
left to the police force, depending on the harm
done.
As seen by the students at Midway, a
rumor quickly caused complications for their
technological and educational footprints.
“[Incorrect information] is harmful to
yourself and others,” Marlin said. “[The hoax]
caused problems for students with anxiety…
and the boy who people now believe [made a
gun threat].”

Six in 10 Democratic
caucus-goers
wanted
a
candidate
who
would
continue Obama’s policies.
Young voters overwhelmingly
backed Sanders.
Both parties were drawing
new voters. About 4 in 10
participants in each party
said they were caucusing for
the first time.
In Iowa, which has
for decades launched the
presidential
nominating
contest, candidates also
faced an electorate that’s
whiter, more rural and more
evangelical than many states.
But, given its prime leadoff
spot in the primary season,
the state gets extra attention
from presidential campaigns.
The caucuses marked
the end of at least two
candidates’ White House
hopes. Former Maryland
Gov. Martin O’Malley ended
his longshot bid for the
Democratic
nomination.
Huckabee dropped out on the
Republican side.
Republicans John Kasich,
Chris Christie and Jeb Bush
were all spending Monday

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Courtesy of the Center for Professional Selling

SELLING EXPERIENCE Professional selling majors participated in a sell-off competition Friday. The event, which happens every year, imitates a sales meeting scenario
in which students had to sell a product to the company’s CEO.

a different character trait; they’ll be more
agreeable, or want to fight with you.”
Much like in speech, debate and other
similar events, students must develop
complex strategies in order to come out
on top.
“You have to get in there and feel it
out,” said Scottsdale, Ariz. sophomore
Tom Graunke, Jr. “You have to feel it out
from the initial conversations and probe
some questions to see what [executives]
are going to give you and what they’re
not. And from there you establish it.”
“This is so different than anything I’ve
done before,” Sullivan said. “It’s definitely
something where no one really knows
what to expect when they walk in the first
time. It’s a very exciting experience.”
Though designed as a sales
competition, the sell-off is also designed
to be a learning experience for students.
“As [students] are exposed to the
scenario, we use our experiences or ask
them questions to help them learn and
listen to the customer,” Hess said.
Graunke pointed out, however, that
the skills students receive at the sell-off

are not just for the boardroom, but can
easily be applied to real-life scenarios as
well.
“Selling is used for the rest of your
life, regardless of what it is you’re
doing,” Graunke said. “Whether you’re
buying a new car or making a sale for
your company, sales is always used. The
experience we just got is going to be
exactly what it’s like in the real world
when you’re truly pitching. It’s fun to be
able to take on a scenario of, ‘This is your
company and this is what you want to do,’
and be able to feel it out.”
Besides the Center for Professional
Selling’s annual sell-off competition,
students are also required to attend at
least one other external competition each
academic year, a Top Gun Training each
semester and work alongside mentors to
further develop their skills.
“It’s more than a major. It really
is a program. There’s really a lot of
camaraderie. There’s a lot of helping out
each other. We all call ourselves a little
pro-sales family,” Sullivan said.

night in New Hampshire —
not only to get a jump on
the snow moving into Iowa
but also to get ahead of their
competitors in a state with
voters who are expected to be
friendlier to more traditional
GOP candidates.
While
both
parties
caucused on the same night
in Iowa, they did so with
different rules.
Republicans vote by
private ballot. The state’s
30 Republican delegates
are awarded proportionally
based on the vote.
Democrats form groups
at caucus sites, publicly
declaring their support for
a candidate. If the number
in any group is less than 15
percent of the total, they can
either bow out or join another
viable candidate’s group.
Those final numbers are
awarded
proportionately,
based on statewide and
congressional
district
voting, determining Iowa’s
44 delegates to the national
convention.

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REBECCA FEDORKO
Reporter
Aaron Konzelman is hard to miss. The lead
singer of The Union Revival and creator of the
leather goods boutique Hammer and Hand
wears a denim jacket, multiple necklaces and
a wide-brimmed brown leather hat. A wellgroomed beard hangs to his collarbone and a
simple leather bracelet wraps around his right
wrist. A tattoo snakes around the other wrist,
and decorating his hands are five rings of varying
widths and metals, each of them one of his own
works of art.
Konzelman, a 34-year-old singer-songwriter
and master leather craftsman, grew up on an
800-acre ranch north of Waco. He was raised
on music and started his first band when he was
12. Later, he got a degree in audio engineering at
McLennan Community College and has written
and produced music for multiple artists in
Nashville. He also tours around Dallas, Waco and
Austin with The Union Revival, an Americanastyle band he started with his wife.
Konzelman is not only a musician, however.
He is also a master craftsman and owns his own
workshop at Anthem Studios Artisan Market in
downtown Waco, where he creates handmade
leather and metal goods.
“Everyone in my family on both sides have
always been makers. They’ve always created
things with their hands,” Konzelman said. “We
had a shop where we would make all of our own
stuff. My dad’s philosophy was, if you don’t have
the money to buy it, just go out in the garage and
learn how to make it.”
This mantra of self-sufficiency was what
got Konzelman started in the leather-making
business.
“I needed a wallet so, in the fashion that my
dad taught me, I just went and bought some scrap
leather from a boot shop and figured out how to
make a wallet,” Konzelman said. “Somebody saw
it and asked for one, then someone came in and

asked for a purse. It turned into me doing it as a
hobby.”
Last year that hobby turned into a small
business that Konzelman ran out of his garage.
For the next year, he gained customers through
word of mouth and his Instagram account.
Eventually, however, Konzelman outgrew his
garage.
“I couldn’t make things fast enough in the
space that I had,” Konzelman said.
He found Anthem Studios and moved his
business, which he named Hammer and Hand,
into a workshop there in August.
“It’s been awesome. I love having relationships
with people—talking, conversing, collaborating,”
Konzelman said.

Rebecca Fedorko | Reporter

A WORKER’S HANDS Konzelman discusses
his work, wearing a set of rings he made
himself.

His table of leather goods in Anthem Studios
is a mixture of dark, rich browns and lighter
tans, with the occasional vibrant cherry-red
leather mixed in. A bucket holds a collection
of metal keys stamped with words like “gypsy,”
“adventure” and “wander.” The whole table is
framed against a slightly faded American flag.
Blanca Torres, the assistant director of
Anthem Studios, said that one of the unique
qualities in Konzelman’s work is his dedication
to custom designs.
“I got to see him start off as it just being a

WABI-SABI Aaron Konzelman’s
leather goods are designed to be
imperfectly beautiful. A selection
of his work, from wallets to Mason
jar holders, is for sale at Anthem
Studios Artisan Market.

hobby, and now it’s grown so much,” Torres said.
“He’s always wanting to improve his handmade
goods. You can tell he’s very passionate and
excited about what he’s doing.”
Konzelman uses leather in a variety of ways,
creating wallets, purses, bracelets, earrings,
necklaces and even Mason jar holders. Some of
his pieces are specialized for specific purposes,
such as the Tech Utility Roll, which has clasps to
hold coiled cords and a pouch for larger items,
like adapters.
Each piece is sewn with waxed nylon cord
and tanned and finished by hand. Konzelman’s
design prototypes can end up being the only
product of their kind in existence. This makes
much of what he sells artistically unique.
“My heart is really in the design,” Konzelman
said.
He has designed custom bags, purses and
even wedding rings, Konzelman said.
There is, however, a ruggedness to each of
Konzelman’s pieces that he said is purposeful.
It stems from yet another family practice:
observance of a Japanese tradition called wabisabi.
“The tenet of wabi-sabi is that beauty is in
imperfection,” Konzelman said. “Beauty is in
age.”
Konzelman said that is the fundamental idea
behind the design of every piece he makes: a
desire to show beauty through imperfection and
to let his pieces tell stories that will last a lifetime.
Konzelman’s work can be found at Waco
businesses The Findery and Plum Boutique, and
he has been trial testing some products with
Magnolia Market.
While he has added metal products to his line,
his focus remains primarily on leather products.
“Leather to me is—I like things that last a
lifetime,” Konzelman said. “I don’t like cheap
things. I have a pair of boots that I bought when
I was 18 and I still wear them. I like things that
last, so I wanted to make products that people
could pass down to their kids.”

Longhorns hook Bears
Unranked Texas overcomes No. 13 Baylor, damages Bears’ Big 12 rank
MEGHAN MITCHELL
Sports Writer
The No. 15 Baylor men’s basketball
team fell short to instate rival Texas,
in a hard-fought battle Monday night
at the Ferrell Center, 67-59.
With the fans dressed in black
in the annual “blackout” night, and
ESPN covering the game as part of its
Big Monday college basketball event,
the Bears had the support behind
them, but it was not enough to give
the Bears the edge.
The Bears (17-5, 6-3) came out
attacking, diving for balls and getting
steals to push the momentum their
way.
Senior forward Taurean Prince
hitt a quick three-pointer and the
Bears stole the momentum at the
onset of the game.
While second-chance points were
big for the Bears, failing to stop the
Longhorns (15-7, 6-3) in the paint
would present a problem.
The Longhorns answered back
and took the lead, head coach Scott
Drew called a timeout with over 15
minutes remaining in the first half.
It was Prince that came up big
for the Bears in the first half to keep
it close. Prince scored eight points,
three rebounds and two steals.
Drew was forced to call another
timeout in hopes for his team to
regroup after the Longhorns held the
lead at 19-16.
With the Longhorns continuing to
extend their lead, a big block and steal
from Prince revived the crowd but it
was to no avail in giving the Bears any
momentum.
The Bears struggled to connect in

the first half.
Prince assisted senior forward
Rico Gathers, which brought the
Bears back within five with just over
four minutes remaining in the half,
32-27.
The Bears finished the first half
down, 35-29.
Contributing to the deficit at the
half, in a rare occurrence this season,
Baylor’s bench players were outscored
by the opposing team’s bench players.
The
Longhorns’
backups
outscored the Bears’ bench 16 -4 in
the first half.
Coming back from the half, the
Bears looked to be an entirely new
team. The Bears quickly cut the deficit
to four, and the crowd got back in the
game.
Prince continued to dominate,
hitting two big three-pointers to put
the Bears even with the Longhorns,
37-37.
The Longhorns hit another shot
behind the arc, but Gathers responded
for the Bears by capitalizing on an
and-one three-point play to tie it back
up, 43-43.
Although sophomore forward
Jonathan Motley was relatively
ineffective off the bench, he hit a shot
and a free throw when it mattered,
putting the Bears back within one
point, 48-47.
However, it was Longhorn
senior forward Connor Lammert
that hit a big three to extend his
team’s lead. With just under four
minutes remaining, the Bears found
themselves down five, 56-51.
A dunk by Gathers gave the Bears
the spark they needed and pulled the
Bears within three points with one

Richard Hirst| Lariat Photographer

DENIED Senior forward Rico Gathers blocks a Texas player during the Bears’ Big Monday game against the Longhorns Monday at the Ferrell Center.

minute and 42 seconds remaining.
Gathers found himself at the line,
and, although hit only one shot, it
gave the Bears a much needed push.
Lammert once again hit a threepointer for the Longhorns, but senior
guard Lester Medford came back
down the floor match it, keeping the
Bears within three points and 38.7
seconds remaining in regulation.

Unable to take advantage of an
offensive possession, the Bears were
forced to foul and the Longhorns
closed out the game.
Texas were excellent from the line
in the final stages.
The Bears saw their chance for
a comeback diminish when the
Longrorns were at the free throw line.
The Bears drop from their

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previous position of a first-place tie
with Oklahoma and are now in a twoway tie with Texas for second-place in
the Big 12 standings.
Baylor travels to Morgantown, W.
Va., to face West Virginia at 7 p.m. at
WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers are currently
tied for first place in the Big 12 with
Oklahoma.